Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Cathlamet resident Kermit Chamberlain for our 55th installment of Reader's Fave, a casual interview with someone who shares their favorite book. Kermit, with a library shelf filled with C.J. Box books said, "It was probably years ago I was listening to NPR and they had a weekly show where they talked about books and C.J. Box was mentioned. I've read every book he's written. He's a great writer. I love his stuff, especially the 'Joe Pickett' series, but I intended to talk about the book 'The River Why' by author David James Duncan. It's a coming-of-age novel and was first published by the Sierra Club in 1984. It's the only fiction book they've published. It's a story set in the coast range of Oregon about a young man who lives by himself and is trying to figure out life. He lives out in a cabin, fly and bait fishing, eating, and sleeping each day. I read this book once a year, roughly, since 1984. Whenever I find a copy of this book, I buy it to give to friends for them to read, but I've never found someone who's responded to the book like me. One time, I gave the book to a friend who, after reading the first two chapters said, 'It's way too literary for me,' and he's a teacher and outdoor person. The book's central theme is fishing, but it involves all these other characters coming into the main character's life, while he's living this solitary life and trying to resolve his relationship and reconnect with his parents and others. Since I was a teacher, I've read quite a bit of young adult fiction such as 'Hatchet' by Gary Paulsen, along with Jan Adkin's books about sailing and other crafting. He really appeals to boys. One book he wrote, 'A Storm Without Rain,' is a coming-of-age story of a boy who takes out a small boat, is involved in time travel, and meets and makes friends with a boy in town who turns out to be his grandfather. I cannot read that book without tearing up. Since my father's father died, I've always felt I didn't have enough time to spend with him. I would do anything to have more time to spend with him again. This book grabs me like no other young adult fiction. I know there's something missing in my own life, and this kid in the story gets to have what I don't have. I'm not very active in seeking out these types of books - maybe a New York Times review - or I like to seek out the Caldecott and Newberry award winners. I do like to see where this genre of young adult fiction is headed. Most of what I read today is fiction."

Sharing about his youth and becoming a reader, Kermit said, "I grew up seeing those Little Golden Books on racks in stores. I remember some of those books clearly, but it wasn't until third grade, in a split class, the teacher would read aloud to us. She read this book about an old prospector who ends up buying a lake but finds out he only owns the lake - not the property around it - so he builds a cabin on stilts. Also, I was into model airplanes, so I'd go to the library magazine rack and find pictures or illustrations. I'd read the caption and then, maybe, I'd read the article. Later in high school, I really discovered reading. I had this one teacher who'd buy used paperbacks and she set-up this high school bookstore in the hallway. She asked me to be in charge of the bookstore during my study hall time, so I had all this time sitting there with these books which were mostly fiction. [During] my senior year, I ended up reading most of the Russian novels, probably just because of hearing about them. I also read some science fiction books."

When asked what formats he enjoys using for reading, Kermit said, "I read them all. I use Libby. I still have a Multnomah library card, so I use that for lots of Libby access. What I love about Libby is the access to magazines, but I really like having a hard back book in my hands; just the aesthetics of it. I do like the larger size paperbacks they have now. I'm comfortable reading from them."